By the fourth course, everyone stopped wolfing things down and switched to a more refined way of eating.
Alright, you win.
The high school classmates no longer cared about the odd looks from across the aisle. Let the pot break and the shards fall. These dishes would have been excellent even before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, they might never taste them again in this lifetime.
The fourth auction lot turned out to be aloe. Aloe was easy to keep alive. Pinch off a tip and it would root. Unfortunately, most had died in the first-year drought, so survivors were rare.
There was no need to list aloe's benefits. Beauty and skincare, slap it on a cut to stop bleeding, good for inflammation and frostbite. Jing Shu wanted to plant some now so that when temperatures plunged to minus 70 later, she would have it ready.
Jing Shu's courtyard had one huge advantage, constant temperature, which allowed her to grow many things.
Constant temperature was the most luxurious condition in the apocalypse. Day and night temperatures swung wildly, preventing many crops and plants from growing at all.
"One aloe shoot for 200 virtual coins. After you grow it a while, it can be used medicinally too."
Jing Shu said, "Then give me one."
The fifth lot was premium cigarettes, 50 virtual coins per carton. Word was the family ran a tobacco company. Jing Shu considered asking later, after the trading ended, whether they had tobacco seeds. Grandpa Jing was a pipe man.
Jing Shu said, "How about ten cartons?" She had lacked the means before the apocalypse. Funny that after the apocalypse, Grandpa Jing might get to try the good stuff.
Also, Grandpa Jing could no longer cadge smokes from Jing An. Grandpa Jing's mood had been poor and he argued with Jing An daily. Jing Shu figured it was time to restore the old dynamic.
Seeing the looks from every direction growing a little strange, Jing Shu decided to stop buying. She really had the habit of spending every last coin the moment there were a few in hand.
Luckily, the later lots did not interest Jing Shu. Most were fine furniture, luxury perfumes and masks, and other oddities, all asking for virtual coins or trades in food, oil, or coal.
A few were rare foods and poultry. A white goose went for 1,000 virtual coins. A laying hen also fetched 1,000. Ten kilograms of frozen beef sold for 2,000.
Jing Shu fell into thoughtful silence. What would a live black pig bring now? Speaking of black pigs, the thought led her to Aunt Jing Pan's family. After checking the map, she had found their place sat on higher ground, likely unflooded, so she had not told them to evacuate.
A few days ago, Grandma Jing had called. As expected, they were fine and had even saved quite a few animals from the Livestock Breeding Center. That counted as real merit. They would have a firm footing there now, and life would not be bad. With a breeding sow, a light push from Jing Shu would be enough to set them up. Uncle was a capable man.
From the looks of it, the wealthy were not living as well as Jing Shu had imagined. They were turning hoarded excess into food. Clearly, they did not feel good about the future either and wanted to stockpile grain.
"This is the fourteenth course. Burp. I am actually full."
"This is dessert."
"Wow, macarons of legend? Mmm, so sweet."
"Idiot, macarons are to be nibbled. One should take half an hour."
As the meal drew to a close, all the showpiece lots had been auctioned. Three or four went unsold.
"With that, the auction segment ends. Next is open exchange. Please check the big screen for the item list. Pick anything that interests you and barter. If you need an appraisal or to trade virtual coins, find A Yu," Su Mali announced.
"Oh, before that, please settle any auction payments with A Yu first," Su Mali added.
Since only A Yu had access to the transaction system here, anyone paying in virtual coins had to run it through him. It was still far more convenient than going to the supermarket.
"Who is first? We will start with the largest total. Jing Shu, car materials 800, steel 4,000, aloe 200, cigarettes 500, for a total of 5,500 virtual coins." A Yu held up a phone with a QR code. "Just scan."
A crowd pressed in, especially Jing Shu's classmates. Twenty points would cover their food for over ten days, and Jing Shu had just spent 5,500 in a blink. That was pre-apocalypse tens of millions territory.
Jing Shu hesitated. Last night, Li Yuetian had said the award would arrive within 24 hours. There were still three hours left. The coins should be in by now, right?
Please let it be in. Otherwise this would be awkward.
Jing Shu scanned A Yu's code.
Murphy's Law did its thing. The very outcome Jing Shu did not want landed squarely on her head.
A Yu coughed and murmured, "Your balance is insufficient."
The room erupted.
Nima Sang raised her voice. "What, she bought all that and does not have the coins?"
"Yeah, good thing we did not transfer the goods first. Can we still back out?"
Yao Zixin said, "Stop shouting. Maybe the coins are with her parents."
Nima Sang crowed, "Look at Jing Shu. The higher you lift her, the harder she falls. How will she end this? No returns on sold lots."
Su Mali stepped in to cover at once. "Jing Shu, you found those Chinese herbs for me last time. I still owe you five thousand virtual coins. I will transfer them now."
In truth, there was not that much noise. Notably, seller Chen Nan said, "What a small matter. Forget my 800."
"And the steel is still yours. If you can get me a pair of crayfish too, I will add another thousand. How about it?"
Alright then. It was not as awkward as imagined. In fact, people's character showed clearly.
Jing Shu was not sure whether her reputation had risen or her heart had hardened, but what would have been a mortal humiliation in her past life felt like nothing this time.
After a moment's thought, Jing Shu understood why. This time she had the Rubik's Cube Space. She had grain and supplies and did not panic. Even if the 6,000 virtual coins never arrived, she could go home, grab a few hens, and settle the bill. That was how solid she was.
"Why do you not process everyone else's payments first. Mine will likely arrive in an hour or two. Don't worry. I still want all my items. I am not backing out," Jing Shu said.
"She thinks she is who exactly? Do bank transfers even exist now?" Nima Sang muttered. At first, she had only disliked how close Jing Shu and Yao Zixin were. Later it was pure jealousy. Jing Shu's performance was too perfect. She wanted to tear it all down.